Trump says India biggest tariff charger; vows to reciprocate if elected to power
Washington (PTI): Vowing to introduce a reciprocal tax if elected to power, former US president Donald Trump on Thursday alleged that India, among all major countries, imposes the highest tariffs on foreign products.
“Perhaps the most important element of my plan to make America extraordinarily wealthy again is reciprocity. It's a word that's very important in my plan because we generally don't charge tariffs. I started that process, it was so great, with the vans and the small trucks, etc. We really don't charge. China will charge us a 200 per cent tariff. Brazil is a big charger. The biggest charger of all is India,” Trump said in a major economic policy speech in Detroit.
“India is a very big charger. We have a great relationship with India. I did. And especially the leader, Modi. He's a great leader. Great man. Really is a great man. He's brought it together. He's done a great job. But they probably charge as much,” he said.
“I mean, I think they probably charge more than, in many ways, China. But they do it with a smile. They do it... Sort of a nicer charge. They said, thank you so much for purchasing from India. Harley Davidson came to the White House a long time ago during my third year or second year. I met with them. They were based in Wisconsin. I said, how's business? Good, good. What are the bad countries? Well, India is very tough. And they gave me some others. Why? Tariffs. I said, what are they? And they said like 150 per cent, some massive amount,” Trump told the members of the Detroit Economic Club.
“I said so do you sell many motorcycles because you think people want to buy a Harley. No, we sell very few in India, but they want us to go there. They said, if you go there and build your plant there, we're not going to charge you anything. I mean, you can do whatever you want. I said I don't like that. And I see they went, they built the plant, and now they do their business with India. They probably do it outside of India too. They built a very big plant in many countries, they do that. Then all of a sudden, you hear that they're leaving Milwaukee or they're leaving wherever they may be located,” he said.
Thursday's remarks by Trump come following his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week.
Trump described Modi as “the nicest human being”, saying the Indian leader is “a friend of mine”.
“Modi, India. He’s a friend of mine. He’s great. Before him, they were replacing them every year. It’s very unstable. He came over. He’s a friend of mine. But on the outside, he looks like he’s your father. He’s the nicest, but he’s a total killer,” he said.
Trump recalled Modi’s visit to Houston in 2019 to attend the ‘Howdy Modi’ event during his tenure and said: “It was beautiful. It’s like 80,000 people going crazy. We were walking around.”
The Republican candidate said he shared a “very good relationship” with Modi.
Recalling that there were a couple of occasions where somebody was threatening India, Trump said: "I told Modi, let me help as I am very good with those people. To which he aggressively responded, ‘I will do it. I will do it. And I would do anything necessary. We have defeated them for hundreds of years.' I said 'Whoa, what just happened there',” he added.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
